Hey everyone I am happy to inform you all that my new soap is in the works officially

[SoapMakingTommy]

I was so excited that I ended up measuring out all my oils into the cooking pot, It looks amazing. The colors and different density's of oil. At first all the oils seem very similar but under a more closer look they are all very different, soo cool, Since I only worked with Castile soap this is new trying out all new oils.

In the morning I will be heating the oils up and getting them ready for the saponification process.

I will be giving more details to the soap as It is made and I will update to this thread.

Here's a teaser photo.

O and I'm calling this soap the wonder soap, lol

 

[Lindy]

There you go - have fun

 

[SoapMakingTommy]

Hey all just wanted to update with some pictures.
I wanted to take pictures threw out the process but I was trying to squeeze things in so no go, but next time I will try.
I ended up picking 3 different EO's for this soap. They are cedar wood, rosemary, grapefruit.

I forgot about flash points towards the end I hope the sent comes threw fully from all 3.

I would like to point out that rosemary and cedar wood combined smell very similar to eucalyptus.

Enjoy the soap ****.

 

[seven]

that looks awesome! cant wait to see cut pics. did you use a stand mixer?

 

[SoapMakingTommy]

that looks awesome! cant wait to see cut pics. did you use a stand mixer?

Thanks, There is a couple things i could of done better, this was my first soap swirl, i hope it comes out good when i cut it also, i really cant wait, This is first soap i am running out of patience, about to toss it outside in the freezing snow, lol

I used a kitchenaid high power hand mixer, works great i never had any problems with air bubbles and has multiple speed settings that i can adjust.

 

[SoapMakingTommy]

Hey everyone just wanted to update, glad to see so many views, too bad there's so little comments, I was hoping to see what everyone thought.
So I ended up sticking my soap in the oven to try and maintain it slightly warm. I didn't wana risk anything or even risk speeding it up so I did not leave it outside in the freezing weather.
I just sliced my soaps and here are some pictures, if you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

[bluelilyboutique]

Beautiful!

 

[Derpina Bubbles]

Very nice. Congrats! So hard to wait before cutting it to see how the swirls turned out isn't it? Your swirls came out awesome

 

[Lin]

What do you mean about not wanting to risk speeding anything up? Keeping the soap warm would speed up saponification, and encourage gel. Putting it outside in the cold would slow things down and prevent gel.

Good job for a first swirl.

 

[SoapMakingTommy]

Thanks, Thanks everyone, Yes Derpina i was checking on them a lot to see how hard it was getting. I wanted to cut them but i learned patience. I pretty much knew how the swirl was going to look, since i put it in layers i figured later on that it would look more of a zebra stripe pattern, but i like it a lot.
My mistake Lin i meant i did not want to place it outside in the freezing weather to speed up the time it takes me be able to cut the soap's.
I like the idea of as fresh as it can be, freezing and thawing sounds a bit half assed.

 

[Trinity]

Very nice .... love the black and white swirl

 

[SoapMakingTommy]

Thanks Trinity,so this morning I woke up and my soaps looked amazing, I love my soaps.
Anyways the smell came threw all the way, i was actually worried while waiting for it to be ready to cut that the smell was going to be too strong. To my surprise they smell even better today then yesterday I hope given a few more days or weeks they will smell even more divine.
They all firmed nicely.
I converted a box I got into a small chest that fits exactly all my bars.

 

[SoapMakingTommy]

 

[bluelilyboutique]

Awesome soaps! Great job!

 

[QueenBeeSoap]

Your soaps turned out great! They must smell wonderful with that blend of EO's. Did you use black oxide or charcoal for the layers and swirls?

 

[SoapMakingTommy]

Your soaps turned out great! They must smell wonderful with that blend of EO's. Did you use black oxide or charcoal for the layers and swirls?

Thank you, I am trying to stick to a strict guideline of keeping all my soaps as natural as i can get them to be until i expand or find customers for lesser quality soaps that i can use lard and fragrance oils in. So no no oxides or micas in my soap.
The black color is from activated charcoal and the white is bentonite clay to create my "Bentonite & Charcoal Soap".

I will have to make more soap in a day or two: pine rosin soap coming up next.

 

[green soap]

Great looking soaps! one of my favorites has a similar EO blend but with a different citrus. It looks like a lot of cocoa butter, does its scent come trough?

 

[CloseShave]

excellent colors. great looking soap.

In the first photo on the first page, what are the large olive like shapes in the pot.

 

[SoapMakingTommy]

Great looking soaps! one of my favorites has a similar EO blend but with a different citrus. It looks like a lot of cocoa butter, does its scent come trough?

yes the citrus went along well, I was having a hard time picking one out, i think lemon was the recommended one. Next time i might go a little lighter on the grapefruit.The smell came through all the way, wonderfully, i heard people say that clays help hold the smell in , so its possible the bentonite helped.
Its not that much coca butter, just looks like a lot. :wink:

excellent colors. great looking soap.

In the first photo on the first page, what are the large olive like shapes in the pot.

Those are the cocoa butter pieces CloseShave, they have a bit of a cocoa smell to them and melt very nicely once they are warmed up in the cooking pot.

 

[judymoody]

They look great!

However, I would wait before boxing them up. I'd leave them cut side up on a flat surface and turn them every couple of days. Then after they have dried out a bit, you can box them up without worry. Maybe in a few weeks. Storing them flat initially will also help to minimize warping of their shape.